The crowd which had assembled was considerable, and was not a little increased by my free workmen; some of whom were unmarried men, unencumbered, and ready for any mischief. I was armed with a long pike and the large knife of the country; and had brought three of my slaves, accoutred much in the same manner,—three resolute Africans, upon whom I could depend, and whose business it was closely to watch their master. Before the commencement of the prayers and singing in the chapel, the black people extended several mats upon the ground in the open air; and our party sat down upon them to converse and to eat cakes and sweetmeats, of which many kinds were exposed for sale in great abundance. All went on quietly for three nights, for the mulatto manager forbad the sale of rum; but on the fourth night some liquor unfortunately found its way up the hill, and Nicolau, the manager, came in haste to inform me that a few of my Indians were earnestly bent on quarrelling with a party of his people. I rose from the mat upon which I had been seated, and followed by my body guard, accompanied him back to the spot, where I soon saw that a fight had commenced; persuasion was of no avail, and therefore my negroes made use of the butt ends of their pikes, and brought an Indian to the ground, who was delivered over to Simam, one of my fellows; and I desired the two slaves who remained to assist the St. Bento negroes. I thus proved, that I would not uphold my own people if they acted irregularly; and the matter fortunately ended with only some trifling bruises, and one broken head. The Indian was conveyed home by Simam, who returned to tell me that he had placed the man in the stocks, with the intent of sobering him. No more quarrels were entered into; for this affair quite sickened all those who might have been so inclined. In the morning the Indian was set at liberty, and he quietly went off to his work, not being much the worse.